Not Just for Show
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: FE7. This was a very private moment, and he really hadn't wanted to be privy to it. Any of it. Least of all his friend's undone pants.  Kent is usually the one scolding Sain, but this time, it's the other way around.


**Title: **Not Just for Show**  
>Characters:<strong> Kent, Sain**  
>Genre:<strong> Friendship**  
>Words: <strong>1,188**  
>Notes:<strong> Mention of Kent/Lyndis. This is also for my pal Sardonic Kender Smile, because she requested this back when I took requests in January.**  
>Prompt: <strong>Kent has scolded Sain ten hundred billion times. This time Sain gets to return the favor.

* * *

><p>"<em>Let me give you a word of advice. It would never work."<em>

Those words, spoken so long ago, gave Sain reason to pause now, as patrolled the corridors of Castle Caelin.

At the time, he had had a million reasons for why _it_ would never work, the biggest of them being that Kent was a bloody coward despite his bravery on the battlefield.

However…if the sounds coming from the _supposedly_ abandoned room in front of him were any indication, well…he had been wrong.

Of _course_ he'd schooled his boon companion in the ways of women, because the man damn well needed that information. In fact, Sain had wondered aloud more than a few times in Kent's presence if the other man even knew what he had a penis for.

"_You mean it's not just for show?"_ Kent had asked dryly, his humor lacking as usual.

The voices in the spare drawing room did sound familiar, and Sain highly doubted that his friend would be in there proving that a penis was for more than show with one of the handmaids or the kitchen staff.

Or maybe it just _sounded_ like Kent and it was actually one of the servants who'd nipped off to enjoy a bit of fun while on duty. It was getting a bit late, and frankly, Sain's head had been buzzing from sleep deprivation—all his own fault, of course—for the past few hours. He could be hearing things completely wrong.

Unfortunately duty did come first, so as much as he'd like to let his friend—or a random servant—have a bit of fun, he had to check, and with a sigh of resignation—because really, it didn't matter _who_ was in there, he had no desire to actually _see_ anything—he wrenched open the door.

The sight that greeted him inside left him open-mouthed. His mind immediately went blank, possibly to keep himself from thinking too much about his lady liege's bare bum, or the way her legs were bare as she straddled his boon companion. They looked up, startled, as the door slammed shut behind Sain.

For a fleeting moment, he wanted nothing more than to flee. This was a _very_ private moment, and he really hadn't wanted to be privy to it. Any of it. Least of all his friend's undone pants.

They scrambled out of one another's grasp and hurried to pull clothes up to cover themselves while Sain tried to think of something to say.

Finally, he managed a bit of a laugh, and a bright, "It seems you're finally realizing it's for more than show." And he nodded toward Kent, who spluttered in horror and embarrassment and probably other things, too.

Lady Lyndis tried to intervene, to say something, but Kent silenced her with a hand on her arm.

Sain knew what he was about to do—take all the blame, due to some kind of martyr complex his friend seemed to have, but Sain would have none of that. "When you're…finished, Kent, I need to speak with you."

And then he left, closing the door firmly behind him to finish his patrol.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes was not a long time to wait, and Sain was certain that Kent had spent half of that time frantically dressing and finding the rest of his clothes, and the other half being assured that he hadn't done anything wrong, and perhaps even that Sain was a right bastard for interrupting them.<p>

When Kent burst into the room he shared with Sain, he looked disheveled and out of sorts, but Sain knew from personal experience that being caught in such a compromising position was, err, bound to have that sort of an effect on a person.

"That didn't take very long," Sain said absently.

Kent simply stared for a moment, before shifting his weight awkwardly. "We didn't feel much like finishing," he offered.

Raising an eyebrow, Sain tickled the underside of his chin with the end of the quill he held. "And I wonder why that is."

"I can explain," Kent tried to say, but Sain cut him off with a barking laugh.

"Are you _mad_?" he asked, looking up from the parchment he'd been scribbling on. He laid his quill down carefully before turning to face Kent again.

"I—well—yes," he finally said, looking properly ashamed, his ears red to the tips, the sprinkling of freckles on his neck hidden by his horrified flush.

"And after all the times you've lectured _me_!" he said, sounding more exasperated than he felt. "Of all the stupid, ignorant things for you to do… You could have at least picked a room better hidden! Or one in a corridor _I_ didn't have to patrol!"

"I must ask your forg—"

"No, no," Sain said, holding up a hand. "I'm stopping you right now. For once, _you_ should be listening to _me_."

Well, that had felt awkward to say, and if Kent's face was any indication, it felt just as awkward to hear. It wasn't every day that Sain tried to spout advice, least of all advice that he insisted someone else listen to. That probably meant it was worthwhile. Or something.

"If I hadn't walked in…" he tried, his expression prodding as he stared at Kent.

With one hand, Kent tugged on his fringe and gave a helpless sort of shrug. "I probably would have…"

"Taken her, right there?" Sain tried to look appropriately horrified, but Kent looked so upset with himself, and the whole idea was so ridiculous, that he couldn't help but laugh.

"I know," he said. "It's terrible, I should never have walked _into_ that room, let alone the rest of it…"

"It happens." The smile on Sain's face faded. "But Kent, anyone could have walked in. If it hadn't been me—and Elimine knows a big part of me wishes it hadn't been—it would be all over the castle by now."

It was obvious that Kent had nothing to say to that; he merely bowed his head.

"Don't think too much about it. Just pick a better room next time. Or something. _Anything_."

"I'm sorry that you had to see that," Kent finally said, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "I didn't think things would go so far so fast, or…"

Sain picked up his quill again and continued his report. The scratching on the parchment was only interrupted when he grinned to himself a bit. "I won't write it into the report," he assured his friend. "But I guess I was wrong about one thing, after all."

"What?" Kent looked confused, worried.

"About things not working out. It seems they've worked out just fine."

"Except for the part where you walked in on us." Kent's voice was wry, and Sain couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"I didn't need that eyeful tonight," he said. "Or ever. But I am glad that I was wrong when I said that it would never work out."

After a moment of hesitation, the corners of Kent's mouth tilted upward. "I am as well," he admitted, flopping down wearily.


End file.
